Terraforming

Land

Desertification is a major global environmental problem. Desertification is a type of land degradation in which an already relatively dry land area becomes increasingly arid, degrading productive soil and losing its bodies of water, biodiversity and vegetation cover. This is driven by a combination of factors, including climate change, deforestation, overgrazing and unsustainable agricultural practices.

The UN CCD says that 100 million hectares of productive land are degraded each year. Currently, around 2 billion people worldwide live in drylands, which are most prone to desertification. In India, approximately 32 percent of the land is degraded, and 25 percent is undergoing desertification. The Space Applications Centre has estimated India to have about 96.4 million hectares under desertification and land degradation.

People in these areas can experience exacerbated poverty, lack of food security and poor health due to malnutrition and lack of access to clean water. They are also more vulnerable to climate change and extreme weather such as droughts and natural disasters. With their livelihoods at stake and a greater risk of conflict over declining resources, they may also face forced migration.

Aquata India is helping the country fight this growing menace through our cutting edge research and the development of innovative soilization materials. With an extremely low optimal ratio of 1:10, we provide an effective mechanical solution to transform desert sand and arid / semi-arid tracts into fertile land that can support plant growth naturally.

Water

A big part of tackling land degradation includes water management practices and creating water bodies and restoring natural habitats such as wetlands or entire river beds.

Pond aquaculture is a method of raising aquatic species in ponds. It is one of the oldest and most common types of aquaculture, and can be practiced in freshwater, brackish water, or saltwater ponds. This can help not only arrest the problem of land degradation, but can also be an excellent source of livelihood and food security in drylands.

To have successful aquaculture production, ponds must be properly built, with careful assessment of soil type. Soil type will determine how well the ponds will hold water; clay and clay-silt type soils are preferred for ponds because they prevent leakage. But as with most areas that face desertification, the soil is mostly sand or fine gravel, which have bad water retention capabilities and water seeping away rapidly, leaving the pond dry.

Our solution for ponds include multiple layers (3-5) of customized soilization material which not only accelerates the natural process of sealing the soil pores but provides essential organic buffering and the right amounts of nutrients.